Our flower
by Harley-Cat
Summary: Harley and Ivy's relationship in a series of stages and events.
1. Roots

She's always there, waving her arms enthusiastically whenever the guards bring me in, almost as if she knew that I was being brought in today.

"Hiya, Red! How ya doin'? Didja take on ole Bat-breath?"

She is so blissfully happy to see me, so eager to get me to smile even in the gloomiest of occasions. She can't stand seeing me frown.

"Hi, Harley. No luck with Batman. He took down my flytrap and caught me before I could get away."

"Aw, gee! That's too bad, Red. Stupid Batsy just ruins everything, huh?"

She smiled sympathetically at me like she always does and I notice that there are no pictures of her beloved Joker in her cell. Odd.

"How did you get in here this time, Harl? Where's your so called 'boyfriend'?"

She sighed and scratched her head embarrassedly.

"Mistah J and I-we're takin' a break from each other for a little while."

I snorted. "You mean he's still out there running loose and he left you behind for Batman to catch you again."

Harley glared and shook her head. "Nuh UH! Puddin' is going to perform a solo caper against the Bat. It's a two-man act. No girls allowed."

I rolled my eyes and turned away from her, not wanting to get into a heated discussion about how ''great'' her Joker was to her and how ''he could do no wrong''. Cocking her head, Harley tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention.

"Say, Red? Hows about you and me bust out of this joint and mess around Gotham for a while? Ya know-just the two of us; the queens of crime! The mistresses of mayhem!"

I shrugged and leaned against the cold stone of the wall.

"Whatever. After all, what could happen?"

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Twenty hours later, Harley and I were zooming far away from Arkham asylum in the car we had stolen, Harley's feral driving making me nauseous as the loud wail of the police sirens echoed in the blurring distance.

Dimly, I could hear Harley taunting and blowing raspberries and I was glumly reminded that it was too late to go back. The seed had been planted.

"Not gonna catch us! We got tha speed! We got tha moves! Dumb ole guards neva even saw us escape until we were already outside. I can already tell that this is gonna be one great girls-only experience, huh Red?"

I swallowed and nodded at the exhilarated blonde.

"Let's hope so, Harl."

And thus, the cycle began.


	2. Seed

Harley waltzed around the living room, occasionally turning a cartwheel or accidentally on purpose knocking over one of my pots containing my precious plants.

It had been a pretty ragged start: we had to be really subtle when finding a new hideout and it did not help that Harley's constant whining and clumsy energetic nature got in the way of performing tasks that required stealth, such as avoiding trouble from the authorities or stealing any essentials in the quiet of the night. In a way, we seemed uneasy-regarding both our actions for the future and our actions around each other.

Unlike her fearsome zealous self on the night we busted out of Arkham, Harley had regressed her personality to that of a young child: clingy, eager to please, and insecure.

It didn't bother me though-Harley was always that way at first. As time passed and I taught her the values on female self-esteem, she would seem much more confident in herself and her abilities.

As I tended to my freshly grown baby-plants, I felt her approach me shyly, ready as always to annoy me with questions.

"Red? What'cha doin'?"

"What does it look like?" I replied with a smirk, "These poor baby can't water itself."

She peeked over my shoulder and pointed timidly at the plant.

"Is this tha new plant that's gonna help us take down Batman?"

_Brilliant, Einstein_ I thought quietly as I nodded to her.

For a second, all was quiet and I thought that Harley had lost interest. My assumption was proven to be incorrect, however, when she presented me with yet another question for me to answer.

"So…what is this new plant supposed ta do?"

I rolled my eyes. "I told you before, Harley, this Darkonus ergot is made for completely knocking out the enemy¸ namely Batman. As soon as Batman comes into view to try to stop us, the Darkonus will release its deadly pollen, seeing to it that Batman won't wake up for several long hours and leaving us just enough time to tie him up and dispose of him. Then, we won't have to worry about him ruining our missions anymore."

It was quiet again for a brief moment as Harley rocked back and forth on her feet like a little girl, biting her bottom lip as if she were afraid that I would strangle her if she kept on talking.

"…Red?"

"Yes, Harl?"

"What if I screw up like usual? What then?"

As much as she had been annoying me, I felt my heart ache for her and her astonishing level of self-value. Whenever something went wrong, she always blamed herself. Maybe it was because of _him_ and the way he often treated her or maybe it was because of my constant urge to blame others for my mistakes. My poor, poor friend…

Forcing a smile on my face, I put an arm gently on Harley's shoulder.

"You won't screw up, Harley. You'll get it right eventually. I'm positive of it."

Her childish, baby-round face brightened and she grabbed me into a hug and squeezed me with all the strength she could muster, causing me to blush with a mixture of embarrassment and arousal.

"Aw, thanks, Red! You can be a bit of a poop sometimes, but ya always make me feel betta!"

"Feh. I'm every man's greatest desire and here you are saying that I'm a bit of a poop! Better watch it, Harl."

She giggled and let go of me, skipping drunkenly out of my reach as I made a playful swat at her.

"I'm gonna go practice my flips and kicks and stuff for when its time ta pull off our big heist, 'kay?"

"You do that."

She giggled again and bounded happily away, leaving me to my own devices at last.

As I continued to tend to my Darkonus, I could still feel her warmth from her embrace on my body. It meant that were even closer together than before.

And at that thought, I smiled.


	3. Sprout

"Slow down on the drivin', Red," Harley said with a mouthful of fast food. "You're gonna make me loose my snack!"

I groaned and turned the wheel with a jerk. Leave it to Harley to get the munchies during one of our attempts to rob a couple of gas stations. We needed all the money we could get if we were going to lay low and prepare the Darkonus ergot for when we performed one of our bigger heists. That didn't stop Harley from whining that she NEEDED a burger when she had just eaten an hour or so ago.

Quite frankly, she had really ticked me off and NOBODY ticks me off.

I felt the familiar red and blue lights of a police car and promptly decided that Harley's meal could hang as I pressed even harder on the gas pedal. She could puke out the window for all I cared.

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The blonde teetered dizzily across the living room, rubbing her belly and looking quite unsettled as she watched me stir our dinner of steamed beets in the pot.

I smirked meanly at her and held up the stirring spoon.

"Wanna taste?"

She shuddered and staggered back, one hand gently cradling her peach-colored belly.

"I…I'm just gonna…watch TV or somethin'…" She was stumbling slightly: poor girl had probably eaten too much of the fast food from hours ago and was now suffering from the most severest strains of indigestion.

Some part of myself wanted to cradle poor Harley in my arms and give her some stomach medicine and rub her poor belly until she felt better, but I hastily reminded myself that Harley should be taught a lesson for slowing us down earlier and not taking things seriously. Much as I cared about Harley, I had to make her learn from her mistakes.

Joker never lets her learn. The only things he's ever taught her are spiteful jokes and how to become completely dependent on another being for survival. Perhaps my lessons were mean, but at least Harley learned _something_.

I scooped up a hefty amount of beets from the pot, poured them into two bowls, and placed them on the table, watching as Harley observed my actions in silent horror and queasiness. She met my eyes and approached the table sulkily.

"Well," I said, tapping her bowl with my spoon. "Go on, Harl. Eat up."

She blinked at me, her baby-blue pupils darting back and fourth in a desperate fashion. I could practically read her thoughts.

_What am I gonna do? My stomach can't take any more food. I can't eat…WHAT DO I DOOO?!?!_

I leaned back in the chair and shoveled the beets into my mouth, enjoying the sight of her trying to spoon the food into her mouth, but failing miserably at the sound of her aching stomach.

_Maybe I'm being too harsh…?_ I hesitated slightly but assured myself that this was for the best. Harley would think twice before following the rules of her hunger over me next time.

Huffing at my amused expression, Harley lifted her spoon for the final time, determined to please me, itching to show that she wasn't some fool…and then as the spoon was inches from her trembling mouth, she dropped it on the floor, pressed her head on the table and began to sob. So much for determination.

"I'm s-sorry, R-Red!" she bawled, twisting her two blonde pigtails in dramatic over exaggeration. "It…its just that I c-can't eat. My t-t-tummy huuurts! Please don't make me eat. Pretty please?"

_Oh, so NOW you'll admit that you were wrong? _

I gritted my teeth and glared at her, watching as she shrunk smaller and smaller with a mixture of fear and uneasiness. She hated when I did that. I was finding it hard to stay angry with a woman who, at the moment, was beginning to look a lot like a pitiful little puppy that has been kicked one too many times.

"Red…please…I'm sorry about earlier. I should've focused more on the heist. Just, please…please don't make me eat."

Half of me wanted to make her eat regardless of her apology. But then I gazed at her pathetic face and was lost in the depths of her big sad eyes. How could I let her suffer like this? How could I emotionally treat her as bad as the Joker himself?

So like usual, I softened.

"Alright, baby. Stop sniveling. You don't have to eat."

"You're pissed off at me, aren't ya, Red? You're mad that I slowed us down during the heist."

"…I'm over it, okay? Just go to bed. Your stomach will probably feel better in the morning."

She wobbled back hesitantly and for a moment I thought that she was going to fall on her knees and kiss my feet with gratitude. That wouldn't faze me though: men did that for me all the time.

As she shakily walked towards the bedroom, she stopped and looked back at me.

Harley's emotions were always easy to read from the look in her eyes, but the way she looked at me this time was unrecognizable. I was lost once again in her sky-blue stare and I couldn't shift my gaze elsewhere, not even as the vines from my precious Darkonus ergot snaked around my ankles, expressing it's desire for attention.

As she disappeared at last into the murky gloom of the bedroom down the hall, a rush of emotions swept around me, filling the silent room like a sudden gust of heat, chattering in my ear like and ape, clouding the air like an invisible dust.

For a brief moment, I became Pamela Lillian Isley: desperate to feel things that were beyond my knowledge, wanting to posses something that I knew I could never truly have.

And then I was Ivy again. The feelings had floated away like petals in the breeze.

Perhaps it was all for the best…I was never born to have these feelings.

Woodrue made sure of that.


	4. Bud

"Here you go, baby...drink up," I whispered softly to the growing Darkonus as I watered it's leaves. Soon, it would be strong enough for when Harley and I would use it on Batman. Only time would tell when that moment would be.

Across the room, Harley watched me with sullen blue eyes, more or less jealous of all the attention my plant was getting. Just lately, she seemed clingier than ever: the first signs that Joker was beginning to worm his way back into her pining heart.

From what she had confided in me, he had left her behind for the Batman to capture when she had clumsily messed up on their last outing together. Even though she repeatedly told me that she and her beau were done seeing each other for a while, the frequent whimpering in her sleep at night and the constant doodling of big red grins on the one dollar bill in red marker while sighing dreamily told me otherwise.

I think that she and I both knew that she wasn't kidding anybody.

"I'm so _bored_, Red! Can't we do something instead of just watering plants? Let's go panic tha city or somethin'."

I sighed. "Not yet, Harl. Wait 'till the plant in ready. We'll have our fun then."

"We don't need the plant ta have fun ya know."

Before I could blink, she bounded over to me and shoved a poster in my face. On the poster, there was a fat, balding man and under him were the words **Meeting today! Subject: the new power plant. Help us make sure that you get all the chemicals you need!**

Harley grinned mischievously. "Check it out, Red. This pooper, Calvin Tully, is gonna tear down this big ole greenhouse ta make room for another power plant. Think of all tha plants he'll destroy! All for some dumb ole chemicals! Whaddya say we go an' teach this bozo a lesson?"

I gritted my teeth; if there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was some fat dolt destroying an innocent plant haven just to make a few bucks. Perhaps Harley was right. We couldn't just stay here forever.

"All right," I said. "Let's go paint the town green and red."

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The crowd in the meeting hall chattered noisily as Harley and I slunk sneakily in the shadows. The plan was to break up the meeting and send everyone in the meeting hall running when I gave the signal to Harley. I just hoped that she would listen to me for once. She rather liked ad-libbing.

"Pay attention, Harl," I whispered softly to my friend as we hid in the shadows of the crowd in the back of the hall. "When Tully starts making his speech, I'll give the signal and we'll charge up onto the stage and spray him with this paralysis pollen. Then you'll fire some shots in the air with your popgun and everyone will flee. We'll deal with Tully once everyone's gone."

"That's it, Red? Where's tha fun? No real excitement at all!"

"It's not about fun, Harley. It's about making Tully regret ever wanting to build a power plant."

She smiled and cocked her head and I got the unpleasant feeling that this was not going to end well.

"Remember, Harley­­…on MY signal only."

"Uh…okay, Red."

Tully approached the stage and was met with applause. I wanted to kill that fiend on the spot.

"Gentlemen, ladies," he began in a gruff voice. "I see a new future for Gotham city, a future where science can progress and unemployed citizens are given a decent job. With your vote, this power plant will be the greatest new addition to our wonderful city…"

I could feel Harley shaking with excitement beside me. I hoped that she wouldn't get too riled up to forget about the mission.

"…Furthermore, we have no real use of this silly greenhouse. Let us dispose of this space-taking inconvenience and start anew…"

"Red…I'm itching ta do somethin' to that flabby asshole."

"Shush, Harley. Not yet. Be patient."

"So gentlemen, what is your decision? Let us destroy this greenhouse at once and build our great power plant so that we may ensure-"

Before I could stop her, Harley flipped over the crowd onto the stage, leaving me to run after her while shoving through a group of now-panicked people.

Tully gasped, recognizing Harley by her jester costume. She grinned like the Cheshire cat and before I knew it, she had pulled out her cartoony-looking scissors and had promptly proceeded to rip off the seams of Tully's pants, revealing polka-dotted underwear.

"Gee, Tullsers, how long have ya been wearin' those? Nice undies for a business man!"

Tully had turned red and was frantically pulling at his pants. "M-men…get that brat," he murmured furiously.

Laughing, Harley zipped past the uniformed men trying to catch her, her tongue hanging out of her mouth in wild ecstasy. She looked nothing less than joyful.

"Watch your back, Red," she called to me as I managed to avoid one of the men that was lunging at me. A bit of my special pollen took him out without a problem.

Firing her popgun, Harley squirmed past the fleeing people towards the door, motioning for me to follow her. Behind us, I could hear Tully screaming.

"You _freaks_! I'll have the authorities kill you at Arkham! You hear me?!"

What I saw next was astounding. Harley stood up to her full height, stuck out her tongue, and waved Tully's ripped trousers in the air like a flag.

"Try ta do that in those lovely undies of yours, Tul. You ain't getting these gal tonight!"

And with that, we ran as fast as we could. I knew that things had not exactly gone according to plan but for some reason, I wasn't mad.

_It had been fun_, I realized suddenly, _that had been pretty funny, seeing that plant-abuser in his underwear._

I glimpsed over at the harlequin who ran beside me like a crazy dog: her eyes filled with laughter and the corners of her mouth stretched back into an unbearably happy smile. It dawned to me that Harley wasn't always some kicked-puppy-of-a-woman. Had she the heart and the desire, she could have been an even better criminal than me. Tonight, she had shown me a side of her I rarely got to see, a side that was…bolder. And at that thought, I was proud of her.

As the police siren began to echo behind us, Harley grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly.

I squeezed back.


	5. Leaves

Fall was coming and my days with Harley were growing. The leaves spiraled down from the golden trees like dandelion spores, making me grieve that soon, every tree in Gotham would be completely bare and naked. I knew that Harley would start brining up the subject of the Joker and how she missed him _sooo _much. Like the leaves, Harley has to go away eventually…

For days, I had been hard at work with my plant experiments, making Harley knock off as many gas-station stores as possible in order to get just enough cash to live on.

Although she didn't like doing my dirty work, Harley consented to my demands and I found that it was much easier to concentrate without having to constantly be paranoid about what the energetic harlequin was doing at every waking moment. When she was in the house, Harley had gotten a nasty habit lately of snooping around my plants.

As I looked through the lens of my microscope at a particularly fascinating string of plant DNA I was researching on, Harley cartwheeled into the room, eager to win my attention in some retrospect. She definitely did when I caught sight of blood that was flowing from her forehead.

"Jesus, Harley, You cut your forehead!" The blonde must have gotten it accidentally when she had been roaming around the mini-trees I had planted in the room. Those branches _did_ tend to stick out.

"Huh?" Harley blinked at me confusedly, not comprehending that her forehead was bleeding as if someone had decided to use it to test out an ice pick. A crimson river flowed southward of the cut towards her nose and I began rushing frantically towards the trusty cabinet for some bandages before it got any worse. I was used to cleaning Harley's wounds. That _clown_ made it necessary each time Harley wound up on my doorstep, sniffling brokenly that "Puddin' didn't mean to do it."

"Gonna fix me up, Red?" she asked meekly, as if she thought that I was mad at her because she had hurt herself.

"Yes, now stay still. God, when will you listen when I say to stay away from my plant experiments?"

She smiled as I rubbed the wound ointment in, "I like your little trees. They remind me of the tree I used to have in my backyard when I was little…"

"Well, either way, I can't have you getting yourself hurt. The darkonus is almost ready and I need you to be as strong as possible for when we pull off our big crime."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whenever THAT time comes."

"Don't be haughty. Remember that I'M the one who is making this all possible. I don't see YOU working super late drawing up plans."

"Yeah, yeah."

After the ointment was applied as much as possible, Harley jumped up and examined herself in the mirror, making a silly face at her reflection as if the large cut on her forehead was nothing more than a mosquito bite.

"Gee," she said, either to herself or me. "Its so lonely here. We could use with some fun company, huh, Red?"

I grunted, not listening and went back to my work.

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It was dark when I opened my eyes and gazed at the clock. _12:15? How did I fall asleep? Did Harley go to bed without me?_

Smoothing back my messy hair, I got up from my work desk, went over to our bedroom and peaked in. No Harley. She wasn't in bed and she certainly wasn't in the house.

_Where the Hell had she gone?_

Gritting my teeth, I opened the front door and looked around outside. "Harl?" I called out in the murky darkness. "Harley? Are you out there?" She wasn't.

Crap.

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It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Harley had gone on one of her nightly escapades again, probably to annoy the cops in some way or maybe to get the latest scoop about her beloved Joker. Maybe she just got bored and wanted to steal something fun.

Either way, I was going to kick her little harlequin ass when I found her. She should know better than to just wander around at night with the Batman prowling around.

Sneaking silently through the shadows of an alleyway, my nose wrinkled at the smell of the nearby sewer, making me detest the fact that I had actually gone out to look for her to begin with. Filthy things like the sewer and alleyways don't mix too well with me.

"Where can she possibly have gone t-" I was interrupted by the sounds of an explosion in the distance…coming from the Gotham Zoo.

_The zoo! Of course! Her pet hyenas are at that zoo!_ How could I have been so stupid? Harley's big, lumbering, slobbering mutts had been confined there when she had been taken to the asylum. I didn't really like those mutts, especially when they 'watered' my plants, but for the same strange reason that Harley was in love with Joker, she loved them the same way.

In the distance, there was an upheaval of police sirens and the sounds of barking and yelling.

"God, Harley. What sort of chaos have you caused now?"

Not wanting to find out, I set off for home to wait for her there.

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I waited with the lights off, some immature, sadistic part deep within me unable to contain my excitement when I got to see the panicked, guilty look on Harley's face when she saw me.

I didn't have to wait long. At 3:04 Harley opened the door and slunk inside, whispering to her hyenas the whole time.

"Alright, Babies. Ya gotta be reeeally quiet. If Red finds out that I've been gone, I'm toast. Shhh, Babies. I'll just get you two inta one of our bathrooms where you can sleep in during the night 'till I clear everythin' up with Red in the morning. Everything's gonna be A-okay-"

I flicked on the lights and Harley jumped, instantly flashing me the most nervous, fakest smile I had ever seen. It was so big that she seemed to bear a striking resemblance to her grinning boyfriend with all that greasepaint on.

"Uh, hiya, Red! I was uh, just um, coming in?"

I replied only four words. "What. Were. You. Thinking?"

She whimpered and shrunk down beside her two pets. "Gee, sorry, Red. I meant ta tell ya; it's just that you had fallen asleep on your desk an' all. They _needed_ me. I didn't want them to be in that awful zoo a moment longer."

I came forward and she flinched as if she thought that I was going to hit her. One of the mutts whined worriedly. I wanted to hit her, I really did. She had gotten me really worried. But, somehow, I couldn't bring myself to hurt her. She was just too pathetic; crouching down in that low position¸ staring up at me with those pleady, puppy-dog eyes. She reminded me of a tiny little plant that had been stepped on one too many times and was now begging the human race to stop.

So instead, I leaned down at her and whispered a single warning into her ear. "They pee on one of my plants just _once_, I'm kicking them out and they're not coming back. Not once, Harley."

Sniffling weakly, she nodded.

"Yes, Ivy."

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They roamed aimlessly around the place, sticking their ugly snouts into _everything_-drawers, the couch, the toilet, even around my plants. It really satisfied me when some of my vines would whip at them if they came too close.

Harley seemed blissfully unaware of this and claimed that they were just curious of their surroundings. At least she took them outside to pee on a regular basis.

For the time being, everything was just fine between Harley and me.

It didn't last long though. On the third day of our housing of the hyenas, I looked up from the plant I was tending to and spotted one of the mutts, Lou I think, sniffing at one of the mini-trees.

Slowly, I got up and approached the animal, my eyes never leaving his. He raised his leg.

"Don't. You. Dare." I was advancing on him with the agility of a cheetah. He snorted and continued to pursue his goal of 'watering' my plant.

In a flash, I pounced on him and he yipped frantically, trying to escape from my clutches. Holding onto a full-grown hyena was not easy work.

Whooping wildly, he squirmed out of my grasp and ran, me chasing after him the whole time. Harley was nowhere in sight.

Jumping on him again, I grabbed one of the vines that snaked towards me and whipped at his furry rump.

"DON'T YOU **DARE** TRY DOING THAT AGAIN!"

He yelped and when I finally let him go, he trotted over to the "hyena-litter-box" Harley had made for them and did his business there. Although he growled threateningly at me the whole time, I was satisfied.

I had triumphed over the mutt.

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Harley and I lay on the couch and watched the sunset take place across the landscape of Gotham city. Harley had always enjoyed it and it was actually one of the rare moments when she was not compelled to act hyper.

"Gee, Red," she murmured, "This is just great. Bud and Lou seem to behaving just fine (I grinned knowingly at this) and we're just a week away from pullin' off our big heist. Can life get any more grand?"

I contemplated: in the course of four days I had saved Harley from losing blood, freaked out over her absence, raged at her for dragging her hyenas here, had to put up with the smelly, disgusting creatures as they messed the place up to oblivion, partook in a struggling battle with one of them for the sake and health of my plants, and had braved through countless other miseries such as sitting through all the obnoxious cartoon shows Harley had forced me to watch.

Quite frankly, if I could handle all of _that_, life couldn't have been grander.


	6. Petals

October came and went, Harley had squealed like a small child when Halloween rolled by as she dressed herself in a makeshift princess costume and zoomed around the suburban areas, terrifying the residents of the houses until hey gave her candy.

Around this point, I wasn't quite sure just where Harley and I were going in terms of our partnership. While most of the time Harley was her usual overly friendly self, I sensed that she was somehow depressed. Joker was making frequent appearances on television and I saw the longing way Harley would look at him. Whenever I saw that look, I couldn't help but taste the feeling of dread that Harley would soon leave me and go back to _him_. Annoying as she could be, I had really grown to enjoy her presence. Quite frankly, I couldn't help but adore her in my own way.

"I wonder if Mistah J is doing okay, Red…I hope he's not getting too mused up from tangling with Batman…Do ya think he's eating well? Poor Puddin' never really eats that much unless I remind him to, ain't that funny, Red?"

Day in, day out, Harley was beginning to ramble about the clown, forgetting that it was _his fault_ that she had gone to Arkham in the first place. Within a week of listening to her fawn over that creep like a little kicked puppy that is devoted to her master, I decided that I was not going to let her just leave me for him this time. We still had yet to perform our big heist and I was not about to do it alone. I was going to make Harley _want_ to continue staying with me…whatever it took.

So, getting up early before she awoke, I breathed in deeply and got ready to prepare a day that Harley would enjoy too much to leave me.

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Rubbing her eyes and yawning, as she stood groggily in the living room in her lacy red sleepwear, Harley blinked confusedly at me as I smiled in her direction.

"Gosh, Red. You seem awfully happy today. Have you been inhaling that pollen from one of your plants that makes you all high and giddy? I've done it several times."

"No, Harley. I'm in a good mood because I thought that we might take a little uh…vacation for the day…none of me working with my plants and none of making you go out to steal some cash. Today I want to do something…(My throat was uneasy of the next word I was about to utter)…fun."

A smile spreading on her sleepy-minutes-ago face, Harley jumped giddily at me and seemed to be overcome with excitement.

"Tha BEACH! Let's go to tha beach, Red! No one really goes there during the fall but I wanna go today. Please? Can we go, Red? Pretty please?"

Urg. I had always disliked going to the beach, especially the makeshift one in Gotham. It wasn't really even a beach, just an area with lots of water and dirty, sticky sand. But Harley was right about one thing: no one ever went towards this fake beach during the fall. With no one there, Harley and I would not have to deal with much trouble, plus it made Harley happy and I wanted her to be as happy as possible if I was going to have her stay with me and far away from the Joker.

So, biting my lip, I consented to her request, ducking quickly so that I wouldn't get tackled when Harley became overjoyed and wanted to glomp all over me.

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"Whoo! Come on in, Red. The water is juuust fine!"

She was crazy, that water had to be just freezing and it looked pretty murky. I wasn't about to associate with murky water and so I sat on a towel on the grimy sand, book in hand.

"No thanks, Harl. _I'm_ the mature one in our duo. Have fun but keep that disgusting-looking water away from me."

She giggled and splashed around, her teeth chattering either from coldness or excitement. She had become a little girl; animated, cute to watch, and delighted at everything she experienced. From the shore, I pondered to myself if this loony girl-woman had really once been a calm, professional psychiatrist before the clown had put his repulsive little ideas into her head, screwing up her personality forever.

_No…I can't really believe that Harley was once 'normal'. She's too sunny…too wild and fanatical._

Uh oh, looking up from my plant book, I could see Harley grinning mischievously at me from afar…was that sand in her hands? Before I could find out, she charged at me and I found myself being pushed and rolled out towards the water. Harley was giggling like the maniac she was.

"Harley! Get off! You _idiot_! Get off!"

Before I knew it, we were both soaked with freezing sea water, sand in our hair, salt in our stomachs because we had both accidentally swallowed some of the water during the romp.

I scrambled back to the dryness of the shore and began frantically wiping off my body from the chilly wetness that tormented it.

Turning around to glare and scold the ditzy blonde for dragging me into that detestable water, I blinked as Harley crawled back towards shore, a goofy smirk plastered onto her wet face, globs of seaweed dangling from her blonde pigtails.

It was the most ridiculous, random, and funniest sight I had ever seen. I felt all of my anger float away as I began to giggle at the sight of Harley, grasping onto my stomach as my sides began to ache from the laughter. Harley perhaps seeing that I was laughing (which barely ever happened for her) blushed and joined in with me. Together, we sat there on the sand: tow soaking wet women roaring with laughter.

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It was late afternoon when we returned home. It had actually been a pretty successful day in regards to making Harley happy. No one had bothered us and it had seemed like we were normal people instead of wanted felons. All afternoon, she had not mentioned Joker once. I was happy knowing that my companion would probably not be running out on me now. Things could go back to normal at last without the Joker.

Stepping inside our little apartment, Harley turned a cartwheel and grinned at me; I grinned back. We had bonded more that day. Although I had hated the seawater and all the filthy sand I had to scrub off of my gorgeous hair, I was satisfied and had enjoyed watching Harley be happy.

Exhausted, we both decided to relax on the sofa and Harley even agreed to watch a botany show with me. Things were looking fine.

…Until that green-haired, grinning freak showed up onscreen as I flipped through the channels.

As soon as she saw him, all of the fun experiences we had shared over the course of the day seemed to fade from Harley's memory. At the sight of her beloved Puddin' on the screen, she automatically began to rant away on how worried she was about him, how much she _missed_ him and just _couldn't live without him_. In the course of five minutes, I had once again become second place in Harley's heart.

I couldn't take it. How DARE he recapture Harley's attention just when everything had been perfect between us! How DARE that grinning BASTARD. It was too much for me and I got up and left the room, leaving Harley on the sofa to cock her head puzzled at my actions.

"Red? Where are ya goin'? Red?"

I refused to answer her. Everything had been so perfect. Why did she have to want HIM so badly when I could make her truly happy and content with herself and the world around her? Why did she have to love him so much?

I slammed the door to our room and flopped onto the bed. My vines sensed my dejection and snaked comfortingly around me but at the moment, I did not want their company. . I didn't want to face the ache, despite the great void in my heart…or what was left of it. Who was I kidding? I was Poison Ivy, the femme fatale that cares for no one except for herself and her plants…so why did I feel so jealous when Harley had gone back to talking about Joker, forgetting everything that I did for her that day?

_I want her _I realized suddenly. _I want her because she is something I can never have…something so pure that I can't touch without making her slink away from me…as long as HE'S around, my Harley will always break off and float away from me…like the petals of a beautiful flower. Never mine. Never._

My thoughts rambled on and on until I forced myself to sleep.

During the night, I felt Harley's shadow looming over me, calling out to me like a mewling kitten; apologizing for reasons she did not know why. Either way, I ignored her completely and refused to speak to her, rolling away from her in the opposite direction. That would teach her for acknowledging the Joker over me. Had I seen her face, I would have noticed the tears trickling down her cheeks.

In spite of the loving, beautiful day we had shared with each other, we suffered alone that night.


	7. Thorns

I raised an eyebrow as I met the angry stare of the hyenas; their yellow eyes seemed to be accusing me of Harley's disappearance. Since the night before, she had vanished again, this time leaving all of her possessions (including her costume) behind. I knew I had hurt her feelings when I had refused to speak to her. I still was angry with her for foolishly lingering her feelings for the Joker, but part of me couldn't help but be troubled by her absence. She HAD to be coming back, right? After all, hadn't she left everything she valued behind?

I threw a pot at the hyenas to make them get away from me. "Don't give me that look! It's HER fault that she has to be such a hopeless doormat for that bastardly clown."

Scattering in all directions to avoid contact with the pot, the hyenas whined and went to lie down near the sofa…near the empty spot that Harley should have been sitting in. I was irked. What if she didn't come back this time? True, the first time she had only been getting her pets out of the zoo, but this time there seemed to be an eerie feeling that was making my skin crawl.

In spite of my anger, I really wanted her to come back.

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(Harley's POV)

Yuck, I hated getting all wet from the rain! The dampness was soaking my body from head to toe and I could feel the beginning of a cold in my runny nose. I was far away from Ivy's place now, as I wandered aimlessly through the narrow alleyways of Gotham.

Red was in a bad mood and after she repeatedly refused to answer so much as a grunt to me, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to go out by myself for a day or so. I wasn't just ready yet to go back to my Puddin'…we still needed some more time away from each other. I was worried about my Mistah J…I hoped that he was all right and that he wasn't still mad about having to ditch me to the cops last time. I would try harder for him the next time.

Squinting under the streetlights, I could have sworn that I saw the freaky shape of a bat, but I assured myself that it was just one of the occasional hallucinations that Dr. Leland said I suffered from. If Batman really _were_ there, I'd give that stupid flying rodent what for. Even without my costume, I was ready to take on anything that stood in my way.

"Batsy? You there?" No reply. Whatever I had seen in the darkness was gone now. Ole Batman was most certainly not freaking there.

A small night breeze made me trip clumsily on the pavement, making me giggle randomly. There wasn't really anyone around at this time of night. To tell ya the truth, I was pretty much alone.

Huh. That was weird. The street I was on…it seemed so _familiar_. I was in the more suburban part of Gotham now and for some reason, I couldn't help but feel like I had been there before.

Before I met Red and my Puddin'…

Long ago…

It hit me like a blow from my favorite mallet weapon: I was on the street where I had grown up. God, how long had it been? Nine years? Ten? The last time I had been here, I was just getting ready to leave for college.

I started to smile and run down the sidewalk to look for the house when I was cut short by a voice…a voice from the past.

"You want to go to that university and leave your own Mother behind? I raise you, bring you up and you want to go away all just because you want to pursue a career as a SHRINK? Don't be a fool, Harleen. You're not that type."

And then, my voice, younger and strange sounding, a lot less clownish.

"No, Mama. I want to go. I can't stay here forever, having to watch you drink. It's always about what YOU want. When are you going to realize that I have a life outside of yours? When are you going to be proud of me and what I do? Ever since Daddy died-"

"Don't you take that tone, young lady! Don't you dare mention your father to me. You should be ashamed of yourself, after all I did for you."

"That's the thing, Ma, what DID you do for me? All you ever did was neglect me and put my dreams down. All you ever did was stagger home from the bars and take your grief out on me. I'm sick of it. I'm going to that college because I want to have a life outside your grief. MY LIFE. The life you denied me."

"…Fine…you want to go? Go then. But from here on out, I'm not going to help you. I don't want to see your face on this street again. You can struggle by yourself and when you see that you were wrong, I won't be there you save you. Get out of this house."

My Mother…such a bitter woman. My Daddy died when I was only eight and since then, Mama would never look at me unless to scold or glare at me. I think she thought it was my fault. Often, I would have to sit through her hateful, drunken ramblings as she exposed each and every one of my flaws while I'd stare up at her, a little girl with tear-filled blue eyes, thinking that I was to blame for everything. After I went to Gotham University, I hadn't seen or heard from her.

Biting my lip, I went down the row of houses until I found the one I was looking for. She still had to live here. I was going to see her and maybe she would be changed. I had completely forgotten that I was a wanted criminal in over a dozen states. I just wanted to see her again and perhaps reconcile.

Like I had expected, the door was locked and I had to sneak in through the window. The house still looked the same, broken faucet, creaky floorboards and all. Mama's bedroom was just up the stairs.

On my tiptoes, I slunk up the stairway like one of the little creepy-crawlies ya see in horror films, sucking in the air around me as I kept myself hidden in the shadows. Mama had apparently gone off to bed.

Slinking slowly down the hall, I approached the bedroom feeling very much like a naughty child that knows it is past her bedtime. Mama was in bed all right and boy did she look old! Even when I left her she had looked old for her age, but now she looked like one of those elderly crones that live in those icky nursing homes.

I cleared my throat, and before I had time to take another step forward, her dark-blue eyes blinked open and she was screaming her lungs out at the sight of me.

"Who are you? Stay back or I'll call the police!"

"Mama…Ma, it's me. I'm home."

She blinked dumbly up at me, perhaps recognizing me despite my pigtails and loopy expression.

"Ha-Harleen? Is that y-you?"

I giggled and nodded, eager to see an expression of joy light up her old-looking face. Sure, I was considered to be a dangerous nutcase and all, but maybe my old Mother would be glad to see me. Maybe she was over me leaving her to pursue my goals years ago. Maybe, she would weep with bliss at the sight of me and not care about who I was or what I was doing to Gotham…and maybe my thoughts were so full of bull that I needed to have my head unscrewed.

"You-I heard all about you on the news…all the things you've done. You were labeled as insane and committed to Arkham asylum."

"Yup. But I ain't here ta start trouble, Mama. I wanted ta see you again. Didja miss me? Don't you wanna see your daughter, who you haven't seen in forever?"

I leaned forward towards the bed where she was still sitting up in, eager to hear her say that she missed me, that she didn't care that I was the gal of the greatest criminal in the whole world. Her reply stung even greater than anything she ever said to me when I had been living with her.

"You're not my daughter. Not anymore."

My legs buckled and I gasped but her eyes glared at me from across the room. I felt sick.

"Mama…but…but I-"

"I'm not your mother. You're a…a freak who needs to be locked away and now I'm calling the police."

The room was spinning. My Mother…my own Mother disowns me…she hasn't changed…she never cared about me. Never.

She got up and reached for the phone on the desk and my head was burning with thoughts of murder. I had a knife with me, I could slit her throat right here on the spot…I could kill my Mother and be free of her hateful figure looming over my life at last.

And then a part of me, the part that was still the rational Harleen Quinzel that I thought was gone forever, caused me to turn away. In a flash and without thinking like usual, I jumped out the two-story bedroom window and fell to the ground like a stupid bird would after crashing into a wall during flight.

Getting to my feet in agony, I could hear my mother above, screaming into the phone that I had come to kill her. The final blow.

Groaning in fatigue, I began to run limply as fast as I could, vowing that I would never come to this street again. Never, ever, EVER.

Just my luck, rain was beginning to come down in a shower, making me feel the picture of miserable. Where was I to go now? Red was still pissed off at me and my heart just couldn't take any more pain. I wasn't about to stay out here and wait for the police or Batman to snatch my broken-hearted little hide.

Coughing and choking on tears, I turned and headed back to Ivy's, the pain in my heart greater than the pain of my aching body.

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(Back to Ivy's POV)

Late at night, there was a pitiful little knock at the door and I knew it was Harley. She was limping and running a temperature and it looked like she was under more suffering than I could ever imagine.

I wanted to turn her away for getting me scared again but when I met her eyes, I couldn't bring myself to do it. She looked distraught. Not even the Joker could make her look this miserable. So, I let her in and wrapped up the bruises that were appearing on her knees and arms and gave her some herbal medicine and put her to sleep on the sofa.

I dismissed all still-angry feelings I had towards her. Whatever had happened to her that night, I was sure she would tell me in time. I hoped she would.


	8. Bloom

Harley remained semi-conscious for three days. I had to spoon-feed her like a baby whenever I could get her to briefly awaken and I kept her on many drugs to fight the fever she had developed from being out in the rain nights ago.

She kept on whimpering in her sleep, crying out for her mother, sometimes for Joker, sometimes for me. The hyenas whined like dogs and lay under the bed that she rested on.

Finally, when the fever was vanquished at last, Harley was up and about, still looking gloomy, but slightly calmer than she had been before. I could tell that she wasn't going to talk about whatever had happened and probably wanted to forget all about it…that is if the drugs I had been keeping her under hadn't made her memory hazy.

"I'm okay, Red," she had told me with her familiar sunny smile on her face, "I'm ready ta do anythin' ya ask. Just name it."

The smile wasn't fooling me any more than she was fooling herself. Whether she remembered it or not, I was quite intrigued to learn what had happened…after all, I needed her to feel best as possible before I showed her the big surprise that was finally ready. I had debated my true feelings for Harley long enough. True, she was scatterbrained, annoying and as immature as a whiny youngster, but she was also the only friend I had. And through it all…I guess I sort of yearned for her in a strange, unhappy compulsion. Seeing her so morose was like a small wound to the heart…sort of.

Blinking up now, I watched her as she sat quietly in the armchair, reading a book for once. The perfect opportunity to approach her. She looked sickeningly fragile as her eyes met mine, like a puppy that has piddled on the floor and knows that her master is going to spank her with the newspaper.

"Harl, can you tell me what's wrong?"

"…t's really bad, Red."

"Come on, baby. You can trust me. Trust Ivy."

She began staring into space, as if she were one of those filthy fortune-tellers that pretend to see into the future or past. Finally, she spoke in a voice just barely above a whisper.

"The house was always empty."

"What? What do you mean, Harl?"

"When I was little…Papa died. I think I was eight then. And Mama…she would go out to work overtime and then she would hit the bar and sometimes she would be away for a long time. Whenever I got home from school, I had to try to cook for myself or go eat dinner at my friend's house 'cuz Mama was never home. She always said that I was a screw up and a moron and she never would even help me with my homework or take me to tha park or tha zoo! She was always a meanie towards me…always…"

I cocked my head. Harley rarely mentioned her childhood (Which probably made sense since she acted no different than a little kid anyway) but it seemed to make sense why she was always so clingy and needy for companionship. I really could care less about my family but Harley always _had_ been so insistent and ready to start a family with the Joker, much to my distaste. Maybe even before the bastard twisted her mind, she always _had_ been a little loony.

She was beginning to sniffle now, getting out her red/black hankie and blowing her nose on it in an over-the-top sort of way that would have been funny to watch if she didn't look so miserable. I put a hand gently on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Keep going," I said.

And then, she told me everything. I listened, she cried, and then I comforted her the best way I knew how: distracting her with something else.

"Look, Harley. The Darkonus is ready. We'll be finally pulling off our big crime against Gotham tomorrow. The Gotham museum where the legendary Gaia emerald is on display. We'll have one the most rarest jewels in the world and once the Batman is down, we'll rule Gotham with an iron fist and show them just how powerful two woman are!"

She smiled and I felt relieved. "Really, Red? Really, really, REALLY?"

"Yes. Now cheer up. In mere days, Gotham will be begging for mercy."

"Hoo-RAY!!!" She charged at me and crushed me with a hug, seeming to forget all sadness that plagued her. It was the happiest I saw her in days.

"Awesome-sauce, Red! I can't wait, glee hee!"

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The bed was quite fruitful that night, especially with Harley. I was happy that she was happy again after many days of sickness and grief. Still, despite her dismissal of the pain she had gone through, I couldn't help but have one of my occasional ''Poor, pitiful Harley'' observations. She was so delusional hat I made _me_ look like the sanest gal in Gotham. All her life, no one had ever really paid proper attention to her or given her the respect she deserved, me and that bastard Joker included. And yet, despite this, I was beginning to see that under her insane little mask, under that crumbling little weed, she was a beautiful flower that was ready to bloom, but too scared to. If only she could break free from the people like the Joker or her mother who misused her and stand on her own two feet at last, no longer a little girl, but a woman. If only I could keep her like this, snuggling contentedly at my side forever.

Harley rolled over and nuzzled me, making our cheeks brush. She wrapped her arms around me, trying to nestle herself into a more comfortable position so that she could feel more secure in the darkness.

"Hey, Red, can't wait 'till tomorrow. Its gonna be so much fun…"

"Yeah. You said it. You won't want to see scum like your mother or the Joker ever again once we're in power."

"…But Red, Puddin' isn't like Mama. He loves me…"

"Hush. Go to sleep, okay? Be ready to get that jewel tomorrow."

She was quiet for a while and at first I thought that she was asleep, only to prove myself wrong when she clung closer to me and said things I never would forget.

"Red? Don't ever go away, 'kay? I love ya too much ta loose someone else in my life. You, Mistah J and tha Babies are all I got left."

"…I…I won't Harl. I won't."

"Gee, thanks, Red. G'night."

"Good night, Harley…"

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_Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay! _

_Hope ya enjoy yer summer and such;)_

_-CAT_HaH


	9. Wilt

"Sneak, sneak, sneak…"

"Hush, Harl. We've got to keep quiet if we want to get past the guards. Shut up for now."

Shadows flitted about the dark museum walls as Harley and I slunk around, searching for the Gaia emerald. No sign of the dreaded flying rodent yet…inside my bag, I could feel the Darkonus Ergot quivering with excitement.

"Halt! Who goes there?" Drat! A guard had spotted us. The sound of moving feet on the floor sent us both running for our lives as the guardsman pulled out his gun and spoke into the darkness in which we were hiding, "I know you're in here. Come out with your hands up before you get yourselves into real trouble!"

Just like that, Harley dashed out from the shadows and issued a quick kick in the face to the poor fool, rendering him unconscious. I was thankful that Harley had acted swiftly instead of performing her usual screw-up clumsiness. We had been getting along just fine lately: Harley was trying her absolute hardest to please me and I was sure that after this heist she would never want to leave me again. Nothing could ruin this event for me. Nothing.

Harley flashed me a thumbs-up. "He's out like a light, Red! Let's get crackin' before more hoity-toity guards find us."

We snuck through the fossil room (I had to stop short-attention span Harley from stealing the T-rex's leg bone) and soon, I could spot the room where they kept the jewels stashed. In mere moments, the emerald would be ours.

"All right, Harl, I'll cover you while you sneak past the alarm system. You've got to use those gymnast abilities to your best advantage understand?"

"Right-a-roonie, Red!" Giggling like the madwoman she was, she jumped and flipped through the red beams of the alarm system, completely unimpressed by their feeble attempt to secure an irreplaceable, priceless emerald.

I frowned slightly; this was just too easy. Batman should be here any minute and…I was right, just as Harley was reaching for the jewel, Batman came crashing from the upward window and lunged at my friend, sending her flying back to land awkwardly on the floor. Now was my chance! I pulled the Darkonus from out of my bag and sprayed the hated man with all my might. God, it felt so good!

Harley sat dazedly on the cold tile floor, watching as the pathetic Bat fell to the ground. I grinned and walked over to his now-unconscious form, whispering in his ear, "Serves you right, you waste of life. United, plants and women can take you down."

I looked over at Harley, who was still sitting on the floor, looking at me with a mixture of shock and giddiness. "Harl? What are you just sitting there for? Let's grab the emerald and dispose of the Bat for good? What's taking you?"

Turning, I realized that she wasn't looking at me but at who was _behind_ me.

"Hello, Pammy. How's things been in the weed garden? **HA HA HAAAA!**"

I'd recognize that hated voice anywhere. It belonged to the scummiest man on the planet, the biggest bastard I ever had the pleasure of meeting, the vilest, foul-tempered¸ murderous piece of snot the God had ever wiped out of his nose¸ a man I hated even more than Batman.

Behind me, Harley smiled dreamily, her cheeks turning red even underneath all the white greasepaint she was wearing. For me, it was a sickening smile.

"Hi, Puddin'."

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Hey guys! Sorry to leave you all on a cliffhanger! Also apologize if this chapter seems too short. Sorry:)Hope you guys are having a good summer. I love to hear your comments, so thanks very much for reviewing.

_Ciao for now!_

_-CAT _


	10. Shrivel

"Puddin'!" Harley ran into the clown's waiting arms, seeming to forget all about the important mission we were on. My fists were beginning to shake in rage. She had forgiven him again for what he had done to her. Just like always.

"Hello Harley-girl! Whatever might you be doing here with the weed lady?" The bastard grinned at me and I wanted to throw myself on him and choke his scraggy white neck until there was no more foul breath left in him to utter anything else ever again. Harley was giggling and nuzzling his neck, kissing his cheek affectionately.

"Red and I are on a mission. We're gonna get the emerald."

"Izzat so? What a charming coincidence! That's exactly why I'M here. Small world, huh?"

I walked forward and pushed Harley away from him, snarling into his face, "Get lost clown. This is girls only!"

The bastard sneered and looked over at Batman, now a slumbering stone on the ground. "An' just what did you two little pixies do to ole Batsy there? Why'd ya have to go and ruin all the fun I've been planning to tackle him with?"

Harley nuzzled his repulsive face with her cheek, perhaps trying to divert his mind away from the fact that it was our fault. I couldn't stand to see her clinging to him that way like a miserable child. "Aw, we didn't mean ta, Mistah J. Red an' I had no clue that you were gonna be here too."

Joker gave her a sickening smile. "You ruined my fun, Pooh. All of Daddy's hard planning. Naughty, naughty." I was so infuriated right now that I couldn't move; the Darkonus was quivering in my bag, eager to spray another victim.

Why isn't Harley getting away from him? He better not hurt her or…

_**SMACK!**_

Before I could move, he slapped Harley across the cheek, making her fall to the ground in a whimpering heap. I screamed in rage and flung myself at him, clawing at him with my nails, ready to suffocate his grinning face so that he would never be able to utter his revoltinglaughter ever again.

"No, Red! Don't hurt 'im! My fault! I deserved it! My fault!"

Harley's words were dead to me as I brought him to the ground, relishing the blood that trickled from the clown's face. I was going to kill him…rid myself, Harley and all of Gotham of this miserable excuse of a human being. From beneath me, the clown was shrieking with laughter.

In a flash, I pulled out the Darkonus and sprayed as hard as I could, turning the hated freak into a slumbering body. It was my big chance to kill him while he slept. Behind me, Harley was screaming.

Then suddenly, I flew through the air and hit the floor with a crash. Batman was up. He must have brought an antidote with him in advance and had only been playing possum. Just great.

"Ivy, you, Quinn, and Joker are going back to Arkham. Don't make me hurt you."

Snarling, I let loose my killer vines to take the caped man down for ruining my chance. Harley was at Joker's side, clinging on to his snoozing body as if her were dead. Everything was ruined.

Batman struggled with the vines as they brought him to the floor with their strangling grasp. I knew I had to get Harley and myself out of here before we both got sent back to the dreaded asylum.

"Harley, let's go now! Leave Joker so that we can get out while Batman's down!"

She looked up at me, her blue eyes flooding with tears. "You used the plant on my Puddin'…you want me to just leave him…"

"Come on! Get up, there's no time for this!"

I pulled her arm and forced her to her feet, dragging her along as we ran down the siren-screaming halls of the museum. If we weren't careful, the cops would get us if Batman didn't.

Dodging flying Batarangs, Harley and I ran towards the emergency exit and fled into the woods nearby. We had managed to make it out. Batman would only be taking Joker to Arkham today. We were safe for now.

Harley sat up next to me from underneath the bushes we were hiding under, her eyes beginning to blaze in anger at what I had done to her boyfriend

All Hell was about to break loose.


	11. The fallen rose

We managed to make it back home without getting caught: a good sign. My relieved mood, however, changed instantly the moment we were inside and Harley came at me, her blue eyes narrowed.

"Red…why did you do that? Why did ya make me leave Mistah J behind?"

I gulped. Harley's face looked so…dangerous. I remember incidents in the past; 'Harley-tantrums' as I called them, could be completely unpredictable as well as hazardous to both Harley and myself.

I opened my mouth but no words came out. Harley's fists were shaking with anger and I was sure that if I said the wrong thing, Harley would be uncontrollable in her actions. Finally, I put on my big-girl pants, stood my ground, and told her the truth.

"He hit you, Harley. You don't need him. He's worthless and he's better off being stuck at Arkham then we are."

Harley twitched, drinking in my words. I stood up taller and tried to place a firm hand on her shoulder, speaking to her as dominatingly as possible.

"Stay with me, Harl. That clown is nothing but an idiotic bastard. He can't take care of you the way I can. You don't need him and he does not need you."

Harley blinked, her eyes darting nervously left and right, as if she were trying to make sense of my words but having great difficulty.

"…Red…"

Her voice suddenly dropped a pitch, becoming more controlled sounding, saner. Was it the voice of the woman she had been before? Did she **finally** understand what I was trying to tell her? Slowly, I reached for her.

"Harley, I-"

In a flash, she punched me as hard as she could, knocking me to the ground. Her eyes glared down on me with complete, solid anger.

"No, Ivy. You're wrong. You're wrong about my Puddin'. I want to be with him, no matter what. He needs me and I need him. Us…we were _destined_ ta be togetha. From the very first moment I met him I knew that we were destined for somethin' beautiful. You can't change that. Not ever."

I got to my feet, my toxic blood boiling inside of me.

"You're HOPELESS! You can't ever stand on your own two feet. You promise to me again and again that you're off him for good and yet here you are singing his praises after he _hurt_ you! What's it going to take for me to get into your screwed-up little mind that you need to STAY AWAY FROM HIM? He's a waste of life! Mother Nature wiped snot out of her nose and that was him! FORGET HIM."

Harley was crying now, her eyes still leering at me with rage and grief. Suddenly, she raised herself threateningly at me and shouted words that I hoped I would never hear again from her.

"What do YOU know? You haven't seen him the way I did! You're nothing more than a…a LIAR!"

She backed away, moving closer towards the door.

"Go ahead and leave, Harley," I hissed. "If you do, I don't want to see your pathetic face on my doorstep ever again. If you want to go after a worthless jerk who hurts you, then you obviously don't need me. Get out."

Harley flinched, her eyes widening as if she were remembering something from long ago. Her lower lip began quivering.

"S-surely ya don't mean that, Red? Can't ya understand? Don't ya care about me?"

My chest aching, I turned my back towards her, unable to look at her pleading, desperate face. My eyes were moist.

"I…I _do_ care about you, Harley. That's why I don't want to see you again if you leave to go back to a life with _him_. I care about you…too much."

I couldn't bear to see her expression. She was sobbing as I heard her walk out the door…out of my life in order to pursue the madman that she was so desperately in love with. My vines wrapped themselves around me comfortingly, but not even they could help me fight back my feelings of utter despair.

Our flower…our strange, beautiful flower…had fallen down at last.

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_Hey everyone!_

_Sorry for the long delay. Unfortunately, there's going to be another one: My parents and I are going on a trip to Italy this summer for two weeks. I wonder if Italy is as majestic as they say it is? Guess I'll find out, LOL._

_Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers. See you all when I get back!_

_-CAT_


	12. Back to the soil

My first action was to send Harley's worthless mutts out the door. They're bright, beady eyes glared at me with beastly hate at the notion that I had driven they're 'mother' away. I didn't care as I let loose my vines to whip them until they ran yelping down the street.

The vines curled around my ankles-eager to make me happy again. But I wasn't satisfied…I had driven away the only friend I had…the last shred of my humanity. Harley was well, the only person I could talk to that listened and responded to me. True, she was clingy and immature and even a bit frustrating at times but in a way, I always felt different around her. I felt happy…

"Damnit!" I shouted as I banged a fist on the table, "The HELL with her! I don't need her, the pathetic fool! I'll get what I want without her." The vines shrank back at the sound of my voice raving, creeping away back into the gloom of the unlit parts of the house.

"Now, what can I get? They say that the best place to perform a crime is right after a crime has taken place."

Perhaps, I could still get the Gaia emerald after all…

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Dark was the museum when I snuck around the next night. The fools had actually _dared_ to move the jewel to another room after what had happened. I merely laughed as I knocked the guards out flawlessly with my poison kisses, sending them off to dreamland for a bit. My precious plants moved easily with me, taking out whatever came my way and allowing me to explore the perimeter undetected. So far, so good…no dopey partners messing thing up, no holdbacks, no whining. Maybe getting rid of Harley had been a good idea after all. A cold feeling in my gut told me that I was wrong.

"Aha! There it is. And no Batman to mess me up this time."

My vines grasped me and shifted me upwards around the alarms, carefully making sure not to make any slip-ups. My fingers were just inches away from my prize.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEP!

Godamnit! One of the vines had shifted incorrectly. I grabbed the emerald and made a run for it as the guards began to dash down the halls, looking for me.

"For the love of Mother Earth, why does this crap keep happening to me?!"

As if to answer, Batman's figure appeared from the shadows. More good stuff.

"Ivy, put the jewel down. I knew you probably would come back here. You and Quinn."

"Ha! Harley and I are over. If you'll kindly let me go, darling, you can go pursue her instead."

Batman's face became puzzled for a moment. "But Quinn is…she's-"

"I DON'T CARE about her! This jewel is mine. I didn't need that dimwit to get it."

"…Put down the jewel, Ivy. You're going to Arkham. What will violence settle? Come quietly."

I sent my vines on him before he got the chance to spew out any more useless words. It was quite amusing to watch him fight as they tangled all around his body. But of course, time is important as I left him and made a quick run for the exit…that is until he threw one of his dreadful Bat-A-Rangs at me with one of his free hands.

The sharp object flew at me, causing me to trip and chip my precious jewel. As the Bat-A-Rang soared in the air, it struck one of the electrical outlets, causing tiny sparks of flame to fly out and spread until the whole place was burning. Great, like I really needed fire to make things worse.

Through smoke and flame, I held my cracking emerald as I got to my feet and moved forward. The smoke was making it hard to see. Was Batman inches away from me or still far behind? I was beginning to feel dizzy from all of the smoke. Where had Batman gone?

"Isely! Come out! If you keep going, you'll get injured. Just give up and come out where I can see you."

Pah. I wasn't going to listen to _him_. I would keep going on through the flames and make my escape. Batman could burn.

Stepping forward, all I could see was red blazes everywhere. Where was the exit? Why couldn't I see it now?

In a flash, I heard a crumbling sound, the sort of noise a solid object makes when it is falling apart. The next thing I knew, I was being crushed on the floor by a large wooden beam, watching weakly as my precious Gaia emerald shattered into a million pieces. Everything was ruined and I was done for.

I had never thought that my life would have ended this way. I had always wanted to die in a noble way protecting an endangered rainforest or my beloved plants. But this…this was painful. I was too weak to budge, my entire body was screaming in agony as my vision began to turn gray and hazy.

And suddenly, out of the blue, I felt the weight being washed away. Two trembling hands gripped my arms and tugged desperately. Was it Batman? Had he found me? But the hands were much too frail to be Batman's. Before I knew it, I was being dragged. The air reeked of putrid smoke and my rescuer was breathing erratically, as if about to collapse from exhaustion. Were we both going to die here in this Hellhole situation? I would know the answer soon as we journeyed on through the haze.

In the blackness that was my vision, I could make out light in the distance. Was it the afterlife? No, the air smelled cool and the smoke had lifted. Dimly, I realized that we had made it outside.

I was gently placed down on the ground, coughing pathetically, but alive. The ground shifted and I realized that my rescuer had collapsed, also coughing. I had been saved. If it wasn't Batman than who..?

I understood at last.

"Har…Harl-"

I blackened out, letting the silence flow as Batman leaned over us…over me and my friend who had saved my life.


	13. Epilogue

They wheeled me down the hall of Arkham asylum on a gurney. Surprisingly, I hadn't broken anything. My body was very sore but all in all, I had made it out okay. I actually enjoyed acting all weak and helpless just to make the guards turn red as they wheeled me towards my cell…it meant that I was still Poison Ivy-the seducer of all.

"Hey, plant-freak! Looks like you took a good ole bashing! Did you have an incident with the weed-whacker? HA HA HA HAAAA!"

"Shut up, clown."

It looked like Joker was fine. The Darkonus had worn off. I probably would have given him a good punch if my body wasn't so sore and if he wasn't being separated from my reach behind a glass wall. I hated him. I always would. In a strange way, I had finally accepted that.

The guards tapped menacingly at his glass as they continued to push the gurney down. Joker gave me one last nasty grin before I was wheeled farther away.

My cell was coming up. The cracked walls now seemed comforting in an odd way…as if I truly was home at last. My cot was neatly made waiting for me.

Suddenly, the gurney came to a halt and I peered over at the bandaged blonde-haired woman in the cell next door. Our eyes met: baby blue and jungle-green.

She smiled and whispered sheepishly, "Hiya, Red. Looks like we both botched gettin' that jewel, huh?" She had saved me from being crushed to death. Come to think of it, Harley had always risked herself for me in her own goofy way.

I realized how much she meant to me then, how strong my affection was for her. True, she was clingy and slightly annoying and dreadfully infatuated with a terrible man…but she needed me and I suppose I needed her. As long as we were friends, the cycle would go on and on. That's the way it is. That's the way it always would be. I finally understood that now.

"There's always next time, right Red?"

I closed my eyes.

"Yes, Harl. There is."

Our flower would rise again.

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_Aaannnd Done! Hoped you guys liked it:)_

_I'd like to thank some of my reviewers for their awesome support and for reviewing just about every chapter._

_First, MK08- you have always reviewed my stories, suckish as they could be sometimes. Thanks so much for the constant support and I look forward to more of your reviews in the future :D_

_Second, Highland girl- Thanks for always speculating every chapter. Your reviews never cease to keep me from smiling. I hope to hear from you again soon._

_Lastly, Kimimpossible- I always look forward to hearing from you. Your kind words are always greatly appreciated. Thanks bunches._

_So, yeah. Thanks everyone else who took the time to read this story. Should you want me to have a look at your own stories, I'll be more than happy to :) Can't wait to get some more reviews for my other stories I'll write in the days ahead. _

_Toodles for now!_

_-CAT_


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